Paying for Treatment on the NHS if Non Resident in the UK

[jamie2009]

I am due to attend the hospital in the UK in March, I have been advised by my daughter who works in the NHS I might be asked if I have been resident in the UK for the previous 12 months if I say no I could be charged for the consultation and any treatment, she also said they could ask to see my passport.

Anyone else had a similar experience ?

Let's not turn this into a migrants get free treatment issue etc, they don't, they get billed but it's unlikely they ever pay the bill.

[i claudius]

Just say you are and sorry don't have a passport ,i never go abroad , if you have an appointment in march ,you have a doctor he must have arranged it , so you are a resident as far as the hospital is concerned .. i know someone and i posted this earlier he went to the UK paid for a specialist appointment ,got a date for his operation came back home , flew back when it was due , had it , and came back a few weeks later , no one asked him anything .

Edited January 30, 2016 by i claudius

[Cirencester]

You got a geezer in Pattaya young guy running bar after bar in Soi 6 claiming he has got Liver Cancer or Cirrochis or something. No taxes paid living off prostitution in Thailand but went running back to the Uk and needless to say on a Transplant list now

Absolutely ludicrous. I assume he will be paying when he gets it (if he gets it)

[Chivas]

Must be extremely tough to actually audit who is and who isn't entitled to treatment. I had read it was as short as 90 days and then you were subject to a requalifying period ?

[sunnyjim5]

This lady, an ex NHS nurse, was hit with a £5000 NHS bill !

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/12057205/British-nurse-stunned-by-5000-NHS-bill.html

[Chivas]

Just say you are and sorry don't have a passport ,i never go abroad , if you have an appointment in march ,you have a doctor he must have arranged it , so you are a resident as far as the hospital is concerned .. i know someone and i posted this earlier he went to the UK paid for a specialist appointment ,got a date for his operation came back home , flew back when it was due , had it , and came back a few weeks later , no one asked him anything .

Assumption is the mother of all cock ups but I'd assume if you are admitted to Hospital or A and E you are tracked immediately by your NI number linked to your NHS number. That must be updated from Doctors lists each year ??

[i claudius]

I see my post was deleted , but it is a fact i know someone who has a British address that has just had an operation on the national health , he was not asked for proof .

[i claudius]

edited

How come you can delete my posts

[jamie2009]

I believe the introduction of the new rules were to curb people coming to the UK for free Medical Treatment unfortunately British Citizens living abroad irrespective if you have paid contributions for years fall into that category.

[steve187]

I noticed that in my local hospital in the UK, there is a machine to log in /report for your hospital appointment, this 'machine' asks the question ( this is taken from memory) '' have you lived in the Uk for the previous 12 months'' but by bypassing the machine and going to a human check in they do not ask any questions, my point is dont use the machine, that way no lies are told

[Chivas]

edited

How come you can delete my posts

I havent !! I edited out my own post because I wasn't sure on the 90 day ruling ??

[i claudius]

edited

How come you can delete my posts

I havent !! I edited out my own post because I wasn't sure on the 90 day ruling ??

Sorry, I kneel at your feet for forgiveness,my error

[Chivas]

edited

How come you can delete my posts

I havent !! I edited out my own post because I wasn't sure on the 90 day ruling ??

Sorry, I kneel at your feet for forgiveness,my error

Fair enough

[chiang mai]

Ask yourself, if the NHS was your business, what checks would you put in place.

Somewhere in the NHS is at least one person, probably more like several hundred or more, with that exact same mindset.

[Ricardo]

Passport, what passport, sadly I'm getting old and absent-minded, where am I, Dear ?

[Chivas]

Ask yourself, if the NHS was your business, what checks would you put in place.

Somewhere in the NHS is at least one person, probably more like several hundred or more, with that exact same mindset.

I have no doubt under Tory Cuts that the Bean Counters are working overtime to weed out the individuals not entitled to services gratis. If that means ex-pats who choose to escape than so be it

[beano2274]

jamie, are you a pensioner?

What happens if someone checks the NHS records against NI contributions finds that you are a pensioner living in Thailand, could they not get the money back from your pension (theoretically speaking)?

A good friend of mine needed specialist heart treatment, so he went back to the UK, they would not touch him until he had been in the UK for 6 months, shocking really as he had paid all his contributions when he had lived in the UK.

[brewsterbudgen]

Surely any Brit returning to "live" in the UK after spending time living abroad is entitled to NHS treatment.

[chiang mai]

Surely any Brit returning to "live" in the UK after spending time living abroad is entitled to NHS treatment.

From past discussions of this subject it seems that a UK pensioner cannot be seen to have returned on a settled basis in under about 3 months at the earliest although that point is not fully agreed by everyone.

[sunnyjim5]

If some has been living in Thailand for an extended period of time it is difficult to support an argument of being "normally" resident in the UK.

"Entitlement" and access to some NHS services is conditional not on "contributions" paid but residency.

NHS GP and Emergency Services are available to all.

[chiang mai]

A new document surfaces, this one from Age UK dated January this year, it says on this subject:

"A British citizen who resumes settled residence in the UK is immediately

entitled to free NHS care. It is only if a British citizen resides only

overseas and is visiting the UK that they may be charged."

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS25_Returning_from_abroad_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

It goes on to discuss Ordinarily Resident and a totally separate issue, the habitual residency test.

It's an interesting read that seems to have all the answers. Yes of course, emergency medical assistance is available free of charge to everyone but that's not what's being discussed here.

[sunnyjim5]

A new document surfaces, this one from Age UK dated January this year, it says on this subject:

"A British citizen who resumes settled residence in the UK is immediately

entitled to free NHS care. It is only if a British citizen resides only

overseas and is visiting the UK that they may be charged."

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS25_Returning_from_abroad_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

It goes on to discuss Ordinarily Resident and a totally separate issue, the habitual residency test.

It's an interesting read that seems to have all the answers. Yes of course, emergency medical assistance is available free of charge to everyone but that's not what's being discussed here.

That document is more complex than you imply !

There is also the important difference between returning to the UK on a permanent basis and turning up with the intention of obtaining "free" health care and then returning to a life abroad.

[chiang mai]

During a previous incarnation of this thread we posted the interview forms provided by government to NHS Trusts, those forms set out the question a patient should be asked, one who is suspected of not being resident. Some of the factors that the NHS has to consider in this context includes: length of time patient is in the UK, the longer the time, the more likely the patient is considered to be settled; proof of sale of overseas assets; activity on a UK bank account; an address was not considered to be important since many people are homeless these days! And yes, I would think that if a person swans up at A&E requesting a by-pass, having traveled directly from Heathrow, proving a settled residency will be difficult!

[evadgib]

A new document surfaces, this one from Age UK dated January this year, it says on this subject:

"A British citizen who resumes settled residence in the UK is immediately

entitled to free NHS care. It is only if a British citizen resides only

overseas and is visiting the UK that they may be charged."

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS25_Returning_from_abroad_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true

It goes on to discuss Ordinarily Resident and a totally separate issue, the habitual residency test.

It's an interesting read that seems to have all the answers. Yes of course, emergency medical assistance is available free of charge to everyone but that's not what's being discussed here.

That document is more complex than you imply !

There is also the important difference between returning to the UK on a permanent basis and turning up with the intention of obtaining "free" health care and then returning to a life abroad.

Going back permanently & changing you mind at a later date is entirely the prerogative of the person concerned.

[7by7]

From the OP

Let's not turn this into a migrants get free treatment issue etc, they don't, they get billed but it's unlikely they ever pay the bill.

Non EEA nationals entering the UK for more than 6 months have to pay an NHS surcharge of £200 p.a, rounded up to the next 6 months, when they apply for their visa.

So, for a for a family settlement visa which is valid for 33 months the charge is £600. This entitles them to free NHS treatment for the duration of that visa.

Those entering as visitors do not pay this surcharge, but are not entitled to any free NHS care except initial treatment in an A&E department.

Everything else should be chargeable, and if they leave the country without paying any bill then any future UK visa applications will be refused until they do pay it.

For non resident UK nationals, see Entitlement to NHS Hospital Treatment for Non-Resident UK Citizens

Remember that the NHS is primarily funded through taxation, not by National insurance contributions; and the number or amount of NICs one has paid has no effect on one's entitlement to NHS care.

[MaeJoMTB]

@OP

1. Learn to lie.

2. What passport, I've never had one.

How hard is that?

[lungbing]

Then despite living here I should qualify for free NHS treatment as I certainly do pay UK income tax.

[GuestHouse]

The problem the OP may face, depending on how long he has been an expat, is answering the question 'who is your GP'.

Two issues arise from this, the first is he actually registered with a GP (or has he been reregistered) and if deregistered who has his medical records.

If reregistered his medical files will have been returned to the central NHS records in is NHS administrative area and marked as a non registered patient.

Its a bit of a flag.

[MaeJoMTB]

The problem the OP may face, depending on how long he has been an expat, is answering the question 'who is your GP'.

Two issues arise from this, the first is he actually registered with a GP (or has he been reregistered) and if deregistered who has his medical records.

If reregistered his medical files will have been returned to the central NHS records in is NHS administrative area and marked as a non registered patient.

Its a bit of a flag.

Nah, you just give them the name of your last GP,

If they returned your records, admit you don't see your GP often, and this is the first you heard about him de-registering you.

NHS admin is a complete nightmare, they would never prove anything unless you admit to it.

Edited February 1, 2016 by MaeJoMTB

[chiang mai]

Let me play devils advocate to test the strength of all of this:

If somebody is asking questions and gets even a little bit suspicious, would they not be likely to check with the Pensions people, if they did so they would soon find out what the status of the patients pension was, paid overseas and not eligible for annual increases perhaps? Not an issue for those using a convenience address in the UK but a problem for genuine expats.

And for the convenience address folks: what to do if asked for proof of current address, utility bill and UK bank statement showing recent activity (remember, the person who is asking the question is suspicious).

AND AND, what about checks of the electoral register and proof of community charge having been paid, what sort of sensible answer would you give?